RIM BlackBerry 8800 (AT&T)

Pros: slim, sleek

Cons: keyboard, track ball

Summary: I just received my blackberry 8800 yesterday and have to say I am not totally impressed. First off let me give you some background. I have owned a blackberry for the last 2 years; the 7280, 7290, 8700c, and now the 8800. This one will take some getting used to so please take first impressions knowing I am a bit partial to the 8700 model and this one will take some getting used to.

First impressions: The color, keyboard and trackball.

The color: I had read several blogs concerning the color being blue and not black as it seemed to be on the blackberry website, but I was still shocked to see how blue it really was. I would have preferred to have it in black.

The keyboard: To me the biggest draw to the 7280, 90, and 8700 models were the raised, separated keys. These keys are much closer together and the ridges on them are throwing me off.

The trackball: This is obviously the biggest change to the Blackberry line as they seem to be moving away from the track wheel. This was the one change that I was not sure I could handle. I have been a track wheel fan ever since my first blackberry. I liked its responsive feel and the fact that I could scroll quickly. The trackball seems very loose and cheap. When I thought of the pearl I thought of something a bit more solid almost like a ball bearing. This trackball is more like a miniature ping pong ball hallow and thin walled. Navigating the main screen requires you to change directions to much and the small size of the ball itself doesn’t allow you to scroll as efficiently as the wheel. I have found myself passing an icon or having to move slowly towards it because the ball didn’t respond as surely as the wheel does. Often you have to lift your thumb and place it squarely on the top of the ball to enter the menu system. I have noticed however that the more I play with it the more my thumb is getting used to it and I am sure as time goes on I won’t even notice many of the nuances.

Other things that I have discovered are things like the backlighting. The keys next to the trackball don’t light up very bright and until you are familiar with their placement placing and ending calls with the keys is a bit tricky. The blackberry and return key are ok since they are near the ball but all the keys could use a better backlighting.

One of the previous posters mentioned how it didn’t smear/smudge as easy. I am not sure what he was comparing it to but I found that to be one of the first issues I had with it was how quickly my 8800 was smeared and smudged. I have very dry hands so normally I don’t leave marks when I touch things like glass and such but this unit seems to pickup everything.

I have been wondering and have yet to find out what the brass metal under the PTT (Push to talk) button is. When I saw it online I thought it might be some sort of connector for a docking mount or something, but I can find nothing on it. Hopefully someone will tell me.

A camera would have been nice but not a deal breaker for me.

Now this isn’t a complete rant about the devices remember I said I wasn’t totally impressed there were some things/features that were impressive. I like thinner size since I do carry my BB (Blackberry) in my pants pocket. I love the built in media slot, haven’t put anything on it yet, but have wanted that capability for some time. Built in GPS is a huge plus, although I have yet to be able to get past the initial splash screen. I will be calling Cingular’s tech support to get it resolved and see what my impressions of it are. The voice dial feature is a great plus. I do spend a lot of time on the road or on my computer and being able to voice dial is nice.

Overall I like the new 8800 and will probably grow as fond of it as I have of its predecessors. If you are new to Blackberry this unit should be great for you. If you are a previous Blackberry owner you may struggle with some of the same things, but in the end it is all a matter of preference isn’t it.